The
Wells
Fargo
Legal
Specialty
Group
Nine-Month
2024
Survey
is
out
and
the
word
from
Biglaw
is
business
is
good
—
like
firms
are
“pinching
themselves”
good,
according
to
Owen
Burman,
a
senior
consultant
for
the
group.
This
growth
is
largely
on
the
back
of
corporate
practices,
and
is
more
pronounced
at
the
tippy
top
of
the
industry.
Burman
said
of
transactional
practices,
they
“remain
the
primary
driver
of
this
year’s
performance
and
appear
to
be
broadening
out
to
the
middle
market,
benefiting
firms
across
all
size
tiers.”
For
all
firms
reporting,
revenue
rose
12.8%
through
the
first
nine
months
of
2024,
up
from
11.4%
for
the
first
six
months
of
2024
and
4.6%
for
the
comparable
nine-month
period
of
2023,
reaching
growth
rates
only
surpassed
in
2021
of
14.4%.
Revenue
growth
was
strongest
for
the
Am
Law
1-50,
up
14.6%,
while
firms
in
the
Am
Law
Second
Fifty
and
Am
Law
Second
Hundred
trailed,
albeit
with
solid
growth
of
9.3%
and
10.1%,
respectively
Though
there
was
an
uptick
in
demand
(3.7%)
and
attorney
productivity
(up
2.4%
to
1,583
hours
per
lawyer),
the
big
driver
of
those
impressive
revenue
numbers
is
increasing
the
billable
rates.
Overall,
the
average
standard
rate
is
up
9.0%
year-over-year.
The
top
50
firms
increased
rates
an
average
of
10%,
with
the
other
tiers
raising
rates
an
average
of
7%.
All
of
which
seems
to
line
up
for
a
pretty
payday
—
for
equity
partners.
Although
the
seasonality
of
collections
and
cash-basis
reporting
can
affect
the
numbers,
Wells
Fargo
found
profits
per
equity
partner
up
23.4%
among
Am
Law
50
firms;
16.4%
for
the
Second
50
and
18.1%
for
the
Second
Hundred,
combining
for
an
industrywide
average
of
21.5%.
Net
income
figures
are
subject
to
the
same
caveat,
but
for
the
same
segments
increased
by
24.5%,
16.7%
and
18.8%,
respectively.Burman
said
he
doesn’t
anticipate
bottom-line
growth
to
eclipse
20%
when
all
is
said
and
done
in
2024,
but
“mid-
to
high-teens
is
my
expectation”
by
year-end.
With
financials
this
impressive,
firms
have
very
little
excuse
to
*not*
match
the
year-end
and
special
bonuses
making
their
way
through
Biglaw.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].